Wordless Wednesday - Cooking with Grandma

"Cup" Cake Copycat

My friend Lori did a post the other day to make "Cup" Cake desserts. She is so crafty :) I am a copycat.

She put a disclaimer, and I should have not read past it... so I will put the disclaimer on mine too....

Warning: This chocolate cake is way too easy to make and you most likely have all the ingredients available! You may want to stop reading now.
(You can find the recipe here)

Chocolate "CUP" Cake

A large microwavable mug

4 Tablespoons flour

9 Tablespoons hot chocolate mix

1 pinch of salt

1 egg

3 Tablespoons water

3 Tablespoons oil

Cooking Spray

Coat your cup with cooking spray. Mix flour, hot chocolate mix and salt in cup. Add egg and mix. Add oil and water and mix (make sure to get all the flour on the bottom of your cup mixed in.) Place in microwave oven for 3 minutes. Enjoy!

Quinton measuring out and making his

Dalton watching his in the microwave

Easton saying "look, it's rising!"

This caught the attention of the whole family!

Easton finished his!

Dalton loves his

Quinton is so proud!

It makes a lot, but they never finished them. They tasted ok, but it was more about the fun of the process :)

Paradoski Family Christmas

I know Christmas was a month ago, but I am just now downloading some pictures and had to share.

We had a Christmas eve with my brother and his family, and we had fun! Yummy dinner and visiting.

The boys thought their gift was pretty cool too. I have quite a few pictures, so here are just a couple of all of us!

Wordless Wednesday - Working Easton

One Year Ago Today

It dawned on us earlier this week that one year ago today is when we drove from Northwest Arkansas to West Tennessee! Two moving trucks, 1 Montero, 1 mini van, 1 pickup truck, and some very tired people, and VERY cranky kids!

When we drove it, it would be only my second time to see the area. My first time to see our rental house. We drove into town on a dark and rainy night trying to decide what had to be unloaded and what could wait until morning. Not too long after that I did my first blog post about moving.

At the time we didn't know how we'd like the area, if the church we thought we'd attend would become home. If Union would be what it seemed. Missing friends and what is familiar.

I don't think you can ever not totally miss something after you move. To stay honest, I still miss:

* CCF Bible Study

* Northwest Arkansas Moms of Multiples Club

* Going ANYWHERE in Siloam and running into someone we knew (or someone that would ask me why I didn't have my choo-choo wagon with the boys in it!)

* Women of Worth (our ladies group from church)

* Moms and Tots with my friends and the kids friends

* Our friends at First Assembly

* Tender Care (the boys preschool)

* Siloam Springs Aquatic Center (Medina NEEDS one of these!)

* Carrabba's Italian food (YUM!)

* Fellowship groups/Sunday School classes at First Assembly

* Mall choices

* An airport that is only 20 min away (That flies Allegiant!)

A year later the word that continually comes to our mind is BLESSED!

We have been SOOO blessed to find a church home, FRIENDS, friends for my kids, a GREAT working environment for Dan! We never thought we'd have what we do, especially in only a year!

Our Blessings:

* Friends!

* the boys transition

* Our church, Northside

* Our new house (our dream house!)

* Sunday School Class

* 20 min drive to most anything we need

* the parks

* Children's Museum of Memphis

* Open Gymnastics time & Fun Zone Jumpers

* Dan's job at Union

* my photography business

* Sam's club being a lot closer :)

* FRIENDS! (yes, I had to list it twice)

* being asked everywhere if we have a church or if we want to visit their church.

Having children ask lots of questions makes you sometimes figure out things in your life that you have never completely ironed out in your head. My children are old enough to ask a lot of questions about moving, friends, etc. They still ask for some of their friends from AR! It has made me tell them something I have to remind myself all the time, so that we are not sad about moving.

"Sometimes people are in our lives for a small time, and others for a big time. I know it's sad that we moved away from friends and it makes my heart sad too. However, if we didn't move, we would have never met our new friends! And if we would have never moved to our old home, we would have never known those people too. God let us meet each person in our lives for a reason, and we can keep that memory in our hearts to make us smile."

Thank you Northwest Arkansas for being our home when we needed it, and thank you West Tennessee for opening your arms to us as our new home!

My Year in Review - iPhone Style

All my friends are doing these awesome blog posts about their resolutions or doing year-in-review photos. I have started in my head a few of those blogs, then get that sick feeling in my stomach that I can't do it. That I can't live up to the expectations.

Who's expectations? I'd love to post witty stuff every day on my blog, or have a "purpose" to it. I'm just not that organized ! My blog has taken on a modge podge of topics, events and thoughts.

As I plugged my phone in today to charge it, I started laughing at some of the photos on there. I got my phone the middle of last January, when we moved here to Tennessee. Some photos have been uploaded to Facebook or emailed to friends. Others have just sat on my phone.

SOOOO here is my year in review.... iPhone style. I hope you enjoy it!

(please don't be offended if you are not pictured, I have no rhyme or reason to the pictures that are captured!)

This photo is a favorite of mine - Quinton

Loving Ronald... before this McDonalds was torn down

An unusually snowy February for Jackson

First time bowling!

Helping clean the bathtub in the rental house

Watching the Lady Bulldogs!

Is this wrong to post????

In Walmart after I told them that Anakin turns into Darth Vader

The fun swing at Union - why did they take this down??

A sign at Union. I guess they sell Pot!?!!

Our trip back to Arkansas for Dan's graduation - our newfound peace and quiet... HEADPHONES!

My dress up Easton

Quinton not to sure about the jumping in Memphis

Easton LOVES IT!

Dalton thinks it's the BEST!

Watching the house burn down across from church. It was a great lesson for the boys in fire safety and the important jobs of fire fighters

Blast from the past pen that I found!

For all my Chase/Bank One/First USA/ First Card peeps

Scary Pirates

Park with friends, what a fun swing!

Construction on our house

Visiting Florida with the "cousins"

Jess and I on the airplane landing in.... HAWAII!

Hawaii for Renee's wedding - a trip of a lifetime!

Dalton learned "shaka" when I got back :)

2nd time bowling - Maria comes to visit

In Springfield, MO climbing with friends the bridge over the busy road

Two peas....

A beautiful Ohio rest stop on our way to Michigan

Visiting Papa's shop

Boy's first day of TN Pre-school

The playroom in the rental house before the pack up to move

MOVING DAY!

Dalton LOVED this chair he found at Sam's Club

Missionary Dinner with the Talley's. The kids loved the spider!

My Star Wars boys

Construction begins! Note Quinton's tool belt, hat and tools :)

St Louis for "So You Think You Can Dance" Live Tour!

Fun time at the park with friends

They LOVE the car wash! That was not always the case. They used to SCREAM whenever we would go through a car wash.

Dalton and Grammy pretending to go on a trip at the Children's Museum of Memphis

Being like "policeman Uncle Dave" as they call him :)

My weekend with 5 boys

Quinton pretending to be our foreman fixing the floors

My perfect Christmas ornament I found to remind me of my time in Hawaii! Love those sea turtles!

Quinton said this is Mommy & Daddy's wedding. Awe!

My children are products of their grandpa... "Live Long and Pros-e-per" (prosper) as they say.

Quinton dressed as Frosty the Snowman

Quinton dressed as Santa. He loves dress up and he loves Christmas!

Where did my 4 year old Dalton come up with that as a pose??? Cracked me up!

I let my boys make their own sandwiches. This one is Dalton's concoction of peanut butter and chocolate covered raisins. He said it was good.....

PANERA IS OPEN IN JACKSON!!!

Dalton and his muffin

Quinton enjoying his muffin

Of COURSE Easton picked a big cookie!!!

In Michigan for Christmas... have to hit the shooting range with my dad!

Our trip from Missouri to Tennessee - the last leg. Poor Quinton!

Out of ALL the toys the boys got for Christmas, these are the three gifts they chose for show and tell.

Quinton's Frosty from Grammy & Papa

Easton's General Grevious from Great Grandma TenBrink

Dalton's whoopee cushion from Easton

Dalton came down with this outfit all by himself. 1 part lightsaber, add belt and hooded frog robe = 1 Jedi in training!

If you stuck with me through all those photos, thanks for viewing my year in review... iPhone style!

Which picture caught your attention and made you laugh??